Electric radiant in Bathroom

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Definitely understand why you'd specify such.

One nice thing about electric floor heat in a bathroom is that it can be run independent of the house system. Rather comfortable (and dare I say "efficient") in some weather conditions...

Regarding a quality job: Kind of hard to find a path for electrocution when everything is surrounded by cement board (under), thinset (embedding the wire) and tile (over). Have worked with the stuff and it's VERY, VERY tough insulation surrounding the conductor.

If the floor has become so saturated with water as to pose a possible danger I'd worry more about falling through when plopping on the pot than being shocked.

GMcD

Electric radiant floor heat in a bathroom

After going to great effort to carefully coordinate and get dropped floor slabs to allow some hydronic radiant in some bathrooms of a big house I'm designing, the Owner and Architect come along and have an unholy fear of hydronics in the floor because they've heard too many horror stories of leaking/failing systems and the General Contractor says he does electric radiant "all the time".....Their direction to me - they want electric heating mats in the tile floor thin-set - yeah, bathrooms, naked wet people on top of an electric device. I won't be sealing/signing those plans, and my drawings will say "bathroom floor heating by others". Some poor electrical engineer may seal and sign it, but I'd like to check the Walls' opinion of installing electric radiant heating in a bathroom - can it be done safely?

Weezbo

Buh Why ?

I am having to side with the radiant hydronic idea...i know of electric radiant mats from decades ago ...however for my way of thinking if i want Dry heat i will build a Sauna i call them ASANAS due to my heavily invested time in matters metaphysical.Savah to the Breath of mind ,Salute to the Breadth of mind also.

bb

electric radiant

Geoff:

electric radiant in the bathroom is fine.... As long as there is GFCI on the circuit.

In some cases, it's hard to justify hydronics in a house that has none, especially for a small space like a bathroom. It can be cost prohibitive. With the electric mats, and a GFCI thermostat your customer will be safe, and comfortable in the house. All this, and it only adds about 1/4" to the floor!

Danfoss purchased one of the largest manufactures of electric floor heating cable in the world. Although it is not avaialbe in the US quite yet, within the next few months it will be here.

Warm Regards,

bb

GMcD

Thanks for the responses.

The whole house has a combined heating/cooling hydronic system - wall-fins, suspended rad panels in the ceiling and HRV's with reheat/re-cool coils, so naturally throwing a bit of PEX into the bathrooms was a no brainer. It's been a struggle - these folks originally wanted electric snowmelt for about 6000 sf of surface...There is real resistance to the buried PEX in this project for some reason. My design efforts will be paling in comparison to my educational efforts here.

Wade_2

Geoff,
While you may take my opinion with a grain of salt, since I work for a manufacturer, the answer to your safety question is OF COURSE IT'S SAFE. All decent electric floor heating companies are UL listed and our company alone has sells over 10,000 jobs per year. The electric cable is fully insulated, ours is insulated with Teflon, others with PVC. I understand that any newish technology will always elicit a few concerns, but electric radiant heat has been installed in the US for the last 20 years, and as long as it is properly installed there is no risk of electricution for the homeowner.

GMcD

Thanks

I've done some looking at some of the products out there and it looks like there are some good, safe installations that can provide the floor warming. My hesitation stems from the problems faced here locally, a few years back, with some home fires, and electrical systems being fried by installations of certain types of flexible ceiling electric radiant systems in some condo/apartment developments. The other issue I had was with the fact that this project has a complete hydronic heating and cooling system anyway, so the mix'n'matching of electric floor warming systems with the hydronic heating offended my sense of efficiency and simplicity (engineered hydronics, man, that's the way...). Anyway, it'll be the electrical engineer's issue to deal with, he's the one that will have to sleep at night.

Gordy

Silliness

Yeah, No electric resistance heat has ever failed. Not to mention limiting your heat source to electric. Unless they have low cost supply grid. It will probably cost some doe to run those mats, compared to hydronics incorporated into your system design.

Could run some of that cable stripped up into an enclosed shadow box, and have a jacobs ladder for a night light.

hr

Low voltage

mats and wire is also available. A smaller shock concern. I believe Heatizon is a low voltage system.

Seems if in fact it is UL listed for bath floors, you shold be covered.

Think I would shy from shower floors with electric radiant, however

hot rod

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Bob_41

low voltage self-regulating mats

Geoff,

Take a look at these mats low voltage and self-regulating:

http://www.warmfloor.com/

Great for those of us that "want" hydronic but can't afford replacinga FHA system with a boiler and pex/plates etal.

Bob